NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are suiting up for today’s launch to the International Space Station. The Crew-1 crewmates are in the suit room in the Astronaut Crew Quarters inside Kennedy Space Center’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building.
A team of SpaceX suit technicians will help them as they put on their custom-fitted spacesuits and check the suits for leaks.
Crew-1 astronauts have received their weather briefing. The NASA team that has worked with Commander Mike Hopkins, Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialists Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi throughout their quarantine at Kennedy Space Center has handed over the astronauts to the team of SpaceX suit technicians, who will help them suit up.
Designed for safety and functionality, SpaceX spacesuits also provide modern comfort and style. The spacesuit provides pressurization, protecting from potential depressurization. A port on the suit’s thigh connects to life support systems, including air and power.
The suits also include touchscreen-compatible gloves and a flame-resistant outer layer. The helmet is custom manufactured using 3D printing technology and includes integrated valves, mechanisms for visor retraction and locking, and microphones.
The four astronauts dedicated the official Crew-1 mission patch to their families.
Good afternoon and welcome to live coverage of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission — the first crew rotation flight of a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts to the space station following the spacecraft system’s official human rating certification.
Here at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, topped by the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft — named Resilience by the crew — awaits liftoff later today. NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), will fly to the International Space Station for a six-month science mission. Launch is slated for 7:27 p.m. EST from Kennedy’s historic Launch Complex 39A.
The countdown is proceeding according to schedule. At the Florida spaceport’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, the astronauts have eaten and will undergo medical checks and get a weather briefing before suiting up.
Stay with us as the countdown continues. We’ll keep you updated on the key milestones throughout this historic mission. Starting at 3:15 p.m. EST, on NASA Television and the agency’s website, there will be continuous live coverage of important Crew-1 activities.
Tune in to NASA Television or the agency’s website Sunday, Nov. 15, starting at 3:15 p.m. EST, for a live broadcast featuring continuous comprehensive launch day coverage of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission. From astronaut walkout, to launch, to the postlaunch news conference — NASA has you covered.
NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will launch to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, named Resilience by the crew, on top of the company’s Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff is targeted for Sunday, Nov. 15, at 7:27 p.m. EST, from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A.
A postlaunch news conference will be broadcast live (on NASA TV and the agency’s website) at the Florida spaceport Sunday, Nov. 15, at approximately 9 p.m. EST. Participants are:
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine
Kathy Lueders, associate administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
Hiroshi Sasaki, vice president and director general, JAXA’s Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate
SpaceX representative
Also, follow along right here on the blog for continued updates throughout the day, starting Sunday afternoon, right through the postlaunch news conference.
Teams completed the final major review today for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission that will launch from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the International Space Station. At the conclusion of the review, NASA and SpaceX agreed to target launch for 7:27 p.m. EST Sunday, Nov. 15, due to onshore winds and first stage booster recovery readiness. NASA TV coverage will begin at 3:15 p.m. The Crew Dragon is scheduled to dock to the space station at about 11 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16.
Coming up at 6 p.m. is a prelaunch news conference, live on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Participants are:
Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy
Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station, Johnson Space Center
Kirt Costello, chief scientist, International Space Station Program, Johnson
Norm Knight, deputy manager, Flight Operations Directorate, Johnson
Benji Reed, senior director, Human Spaceflight Programs, SpaceX
Arlena Moses, launch weather officer, U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron
NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will head to the International Space Station for a six-month science mission in the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which will launch on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A. Crew-1 is the first crew rotation flight of a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts to the space station following the spacecraft system’s official human rating certification.
Today at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) participated in a countdown dress rehearsal of launch day events. The crewmates are preparing to launch aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket and fly to the International Space Station for a six-month science mission.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts began their day in the Astronaut Crew Quarters inside Kennedy’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building. They put on their black-and-white SpaceX spacesuits, took the elevator down to the ground level and exited through a pair of double doors, where their transport vehicles — Tesla Model X cars — waited. With smiles and waves, they climbed in for the 20-minute ride to Launch Complex 39A.
The Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft have been in place on the launch pad since Monday evening, Nov. 9. Crew Dragon Commander Hopkins, Pilot Glover, and Mission Specialists Walker and Noguchi entered the Crew Dragon by way of the pad’s Crew Access Arm and checked their communications systems before the hatch was closed. The rehearsal concluded with the go/no-go poll for Falcon 9 propellant loading, which normally occurs 45 minutes before launch.
Crew-1 is the first crew rotation flight of a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts to the space station following the spacecraft system’s official human rating certification. Liftoff is slated for Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7:49 p.m. EST.
Today, NASA completed the signing of the Human Rating Certification Plan for SpaceX’s crew transportation system ahead of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff is targeted for 7:49 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 14, from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Crew Dragon, including the Falcon 9 rocket and associated ground systems, is the first new crew spacecraft to be NASA-certified for regular flights with astronauts since the space shuttle nearly 40 years ago. Several critical events paved the way for today’s landmark announcement, including ground tests, simulations, uncrewed flight tests, and a successful test flight with astronauts aboard. Read the full news story here.
With the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule for the Crew-1 mission now at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, NASA and SpaceX teams participating both on site and virtually are continuing the agency’s Crew-1 Flight Readiness Review discussions that began Monday.
The two-day meeting is expected to end this afternoon, and approximately one hour after the review ends, the agency will hold a media teleconference with the following participants:
Kathy Lueders, associate administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy
Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station, Johnson
Norm Knight, deputy manager, Flight Operations Directorate, Johnson
Benji Reed, senior director, Human Spaceflight Programs, SpaceX
Junichi Sakai, manager, International Space Station Program, JAXA
Randy Repcheck, director (acting), Operational Safety, Federal Aviation Administration
Crew-1 astronauts will join the Expedition 64 crew of Commander Sergey Ryzhikov, and Flight Engineers Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins. The arrival of Crew-1 will increase the regular crew size of the space station’s expedition missions from six to seven astronauts, adding to the amount of crew time available for research.